Fleming College Supports Upskilling with Online Learning in Continuing Education

Although online learning has now become an integral part of education, Fleming College's Continuing Education has long been a leader in offering a breadth of exceptional online programming to upskill, retrain and respond to industry trends.

Photo Courtesy of Fleming College.

One such trend is the rise in interest in social media courses. Marketing through social media has become a critical tool for business owners faced with reduced capacity, who nevertheless need to stay in touch with and grow their customer base. Fleming's Social Media certificate has seen an increase in enrolment in their eight-week courses, with some completing the whole certificate, while others simply complete the courses they need most. Courses such as How to Start a Small Business and Entrepreneurship have also seen an increase in registrants.

The reality of working from home has had an impact on the types of courses that have become popular over the last year. Certificates that can launch home office careers, such as Small Business Accounting and Business Analyst, are popular choices for those who are looking to retrain, while Leadership Development courses offer managers the skills to lead employees who are now working remotely.

The growth in home renovations has also seen an increase in Continuing Education's Interior Decorating - Residential courses for home renovators and those looking to start a new business venture.

Photo Courtesy of Fleming College.

With healthcare at the forefront of daily news, it is unsurprising that related courses have found an increased audience. Certificates in Hospital Nursing Unit Secretary and Medical Office Support Staff are opening up new career opportunities. Courses in Fleming's highly acclaimed Children's Mental Health certificate have been popular with teachers, health care providers, community service workers, parents and even police officers.

Several students are also taking the time to brush up on Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as writing and business communication skills.

The Spring semester starts on May 11, but many courses also offer monthly start dates. Most online courses and certificates are asynchronous, designed for those with busy home and work lives who need ensure that course work can fit into the schedule.

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Fleming College Addresses COVID-19 Outbreak at Severn Court in Peterborough

After a declared COVID-19 outbreak from Severn Court outside Fleming College by Peterborough Public Health on Saturday, the campus issued a media release concerning the incident Wednesday morning.

Maureen Adamson, Fleming College President, addressed the COVID-19 outbreak at the off-campus, privately-owned Severn Court buildings in a letter that was sent to all staff and students Wednesday morning. The outbreak has led to the cancellation of all in-person classes and activities at Sutherland Campus for 14 days from Mar. 1.

Photo courtesy Fleming College

Here is the President’s letter in its entirety:

“We continue to be deeply concerned about the COVID-19 outbreak at the Severn Court apartment complex. This complex is not affiliated with the College. It is privately-owned and independently-operated. As of March 2, Peterborough Public Health (PPH) had identified 34 students who have tested positive. The ongoing investigation could lead to many more cases.

Fleming College prides itself on creating strong communities. Being a member of our community comes with responsibility. For those students training for careers in healthcare professions, there are even higher expectations and professional standards that are expected to be upheld. It is obvious that a group of students chose to behave in an irresponsible manner that has put many members of our community at risk.

To the students who were part of the unauthorized gatherings, we are extremely disappointed in your actions. Your behaviours are inconsistent with our values and with our expectations of all our students, regardless of the fact that these actions took place in an off-campus setting.

Photo courtesy Fleming College

For those students who are proven to have been involved in the gatherings of February 20 that led to the outbreak, we intend to impose the harshest possible sanctions allowed under our Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy in proportion to the role played by each participant. This could include penalties up to and including suspension or expulsion. The College will continue to cooperate with PPH in their investigation and will offer our full cooperation with Peterborough Police Service should that become necessary.

To the students who are innocent victims of the actions of others, we pledge our full support to ensure the successful completion of your studies. We will offer additional academic and personal counselling services and we will ensure that all learning outcomes for your program are achieved without extending the semester.

The vast majority of our students have adhered to safe practice guidelines for almost one full year. Our employees have worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of our community. The measures we have put in place in our teaching and learning facilities, as well as our own on-campus residences have worked. We have not had a case of COVID-19 transmission occur at any of our campuses. This makes the behaviour of this small group of students even more disheartening and the apparent lack of the attention to safety protocols at a large complex populated by students so upsetting.

We recognize that the general public and our valued partners are also very disappointed. As we take action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable for their actions, we must also come together to support each other. As some positive signs are emerging in the global battle against the virus, Fleming College, like so many members of our community, pledges to build back better, together.”

–Maureen Adamson, Fleming College President

Fleming College & Trent University Partner On Campaign About Negotiating Sexual Consent

Fleming College, Trent University and their student associations are encouraging communication around sexual consent through a new campaign aimed at post-secondary students and the public.
 
The campaign "#DoYouTalkConsent?" is a partnership between Fleming, Trent, the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre (KSAC), and PARN: Your Community AIDS Resource Network, and includes a series of posters and a video.

Here is one of the posters...

 
“We want to encourage people to have more communication around sexual consent and what that looks like in practice,” says Amie Kroes, Fleming College’s Student Rights and Responsibilities Officer. “Negotiation of consent, specifically in situations where one or both parties have been consuming alcohol, can get complicated. Seeing positive, pro-social messaging around how to negotiate consent in those cases is our goal.”
 
“Helping students find the language to negotiate consent is an important part of sexual assault prevention,” adds Ruth Walker, clinical team leader, Health Services at Trent University. “We are also proud of the collaboration between our post-secondary institutions, student unions, KSAC, and PARN, which reflects our community-wide efforts to address the issue of sexual violence.”
 
The posters feature three scenarios—two at a bar and one at a home—in which two acquaintances are depicted in conversation. They have met through friends at a bar, and throughout the night begin to negotiate sexual consent.

“As opposed to a message of ‘you must get consent,’ we are attempting to take the conversation one step further and show examples of how one may negotiate consent,” says Kroes.
 
“So often we hear the messages of ‘No Means No,’ but what if we never hear ‘No’? What are some of the other ways that indicate that there may be a question of sexual consent?” asks Lisa Clarke, Community Engagement Manager at Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre.

The posters will be shared on campuses, as well as on social media. The video will be shared on the social media accounts of the campaign partners, and elsewhere. You can watch it below...

DoYouTalkConsent? #TrentTalksConsent #FlemingTalksConsent is a video initiative to encourage the Peterborough and the Kawarthas community to think about the times when sexual consent may be in question, like when drinking alcohol and meeting someone new, and using 'consent' in our everyday language.

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Tweet & Text-Up: Fleming College Promoting Mental Health Awareness Through Bell Let’s Talk

Staff and students at Fleming College will promote the importance of mental health awareness through the Bell Let’s Talk initiative on Wednesday, January 28th.

The Counselling department, along with faculty and students in the college’s community services programs, are inviting students and employees to join in the conversation about mental health at a special tweet and text-up that will take place at the Sutherland Campus.

Bell will donate five cents to mental health initiatives for every tweet, text, email or long distance phone call made through the Bell network. All who would like to participate at Fleming are invited to wear a blue shirt and stand in the main foyer at 11:55 a.m. for two minutes of texting and tweeting.

“We would like to raise money for mental health awareness," says Fleming Counsellor Anita Arnold. "Myths about mental illness contribute to stigma so awareness is critical to dispel those myths and end stigma. Be aware of the language we use to describe mental health issues. Be kind to those who struggle with or have been affected by mental illness. Listen, ask questions and, most importantly, talk about it."

For more information on Bell Let's Talk Day, click here.

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Watch: Fleming College's Spread The Word To End The Word

[UPDATE June 24th: Fleming College’s Community Integration through Co-operative Education (CICE) program who participated in a video contest to end the use of the r-word have won first place in the Special Olympics video contest. Deets in this Fleming press release.]

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ORiGINAL POST:

The Fleming community was engaged, from faculty to students, in creating this new "Spread the Word To End The Word" video—it already has had more than 2,000 views—to raise awareness about stop using the R-word. The participants made a commitment to tell the world that they are no different than anyone else. Learn more about Fleming's Community Integration Through Cooperative Education program (CICE) here—it's open to adults with Developmental Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mild Intellectual Disabilities or Brain Injury—and check out the R-word.org for more info on the campaign.

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